Spare Trailer Tires

There was a post on here a few days ago and I didn't really want to thread jack him...

Is there any problem with going to the wreckers and finding an used car tire and wheel that are the same size that is on my trailer? (205 75 R14 5 on 4.5) and using it as a spare tire? The tires that are on my trailer are ST tires buying a new one with a rim would cost around 150 and one from the wreckers is only around 45 mounted.

Every trailer tire I have ever had has been a C or D rating for weight. How big it the boat you are haulin?

Better than nothing, but not ideal. It will work temporarily.

Here is a tire and wheel for $85, load range C, a little more that $45, but probably worth it to have a trailer rated tire.

http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tire...-sb-Price.aspx

My trailer tires are all radials and I was told that if I get a flat and my spare is a bias ply, running 3 radials and one bias ply is a really bad idea. This is why I was thinking just getting a regular tire for my spare from a small truck since they are also radials.

Can anyone tell me the difference between trailer tire radials and vehicle radials?

Stu- I'm trailering a Sanger 210 so... 21 feet long.

Thanks guys.

Trailer tires have a higher load range. If your trailer is a tandem trailer(dual axle) you will be fine with a regular passenger car radial for a spare. Keep in mind it will ONLY be for temporary use though. When in use reduce speed and avoid sharp turns backing up etc. A passenger car 205-75-14 will run you about $ 28.00 new. My spare will dryrott before it wears out.

You are correct about having a radial and a bias ply is a bad idea they should all match I was merely stating I have little to no experience with radials on a trailer. If you are running a tandem then I would think radials would be cool I have a single axle also 21ft but have D's on it at the recommendation of my tire guy to support the weight.

And yes the difference is the amount of weight they are rated to carry. Car tires are R S T V Z and maybe a few others. Most trailer tires are C D though there may be more varieties of those as well. For example I have a 215-70-D14 on my trailer i believe if this were a passenger car with normal speed rating it would be a 215-70-R14

Nice boat by the way, wish I had you problem of what to use as a spare for that :-)

My trailer is indeed a tandem axle. so I'm thinking I may be okay to run this type of tire as a spare. I will pay close attention to the load rating on the tire I get.

Steve- thanks for the compliment! It is my first boat and I actually bought it almost blindly. Some specific boat manufatures were recommended for me to consider by a friend and so I went looking. I found this one and took it for a test drive. I had never done anything behind a boat other than tube so as far as boarding/surfing, I had no idea what I was doing. The boat felt decent enough so my wife and I bought it. Since then we have fell in love with both boarding and surfing and are looking to go out this weekend! Thanks again

R S T V Z are speed ratings not load index. You got the idea though. Passenger car/truck tires are 4ply,load C are 6ply,load D are 8ply,load E are 10ply.

Did I not mention that those were speed ratings? My bad

That's funny I did almost the same thing went out and got a boat so my dad could air chair and I got to wake board once now I'm trying to find a board/binding combo so that I can learn and grow but not have to go out and buy something to replace it right away. Not threadjacking just thought it was funny how you can purchase things on a whim and it opens your eyes to another hobby.

Don't do it! True story. I bought my 23LSV used in 08. It was an 07 and sold to me as a demo deal by the company. The trailer is also an 07 made by Extreme. I havn't had any issues until this...

On my way back from Lake Mojave / Laughlin to home about 2 months ago, I was driving on the I-40 between Needles and Barstow. This is a 2 to 3 hour stretch of desert with ABSOLUTELY nothing between the towns. I blew one of trailer's tires and pulled over. I changed that tire with my spare, which had been on the trailer for the past couple years. Within one mile the spare blew. Luckily Boat US found me a tire company out of Needles, and after 3 hours, the tire truck arrived. Another hour to change the tire and such, and I was on my way again. 4 hours on the shoulder of I-40 between Needles and Barstow and I had a 1 year old and a 3 year old in the car!!!! HELL!!!!!!

The tire guy showed me how to read the date my tire was made from the side of the tire. It turns out all of my tires, including the spare, were made mid 2004! Being a tire guy out of Needles, he said he's seen this plenty of times before. He explained its common for the trailer companies to buy a very large bulk order of tires when a good deal comes around, and then let them sit in storage containers until its time to put them on a trailer, and ship them off to the boat builders. This was obviously what happened here. In his opinion trailer tires generally only last for 5 years on average. I don't know about that one way or another, but I got screwed on this trip. That week I bought all new tires which just reminded me of the old B.O.A.T. saying.

Get a good and new spare tire. Blowing the spare is a nightmare, and you would kick yourself in the arse if you knowing bought an old cheap one. Hope this story was useful.